Housing Prices in July Set Lehigh Valley Record

The Greater Lehigh Valley REALTORS® (GLVR) reported July data showed that, for the second month in a row, the Lehigh Valley’s housing prices broke records.

GLVR Members: Click HEREto view the full Market Update report for July 2019.

The Median Sales Price in July increased 5.7 percent to $222,000, beating out June’s record of $216,500. Homes also flew off the market, lasting, on average, just 27 days – another record for the local housing market.

“The economy continues to expand, and we see an unemployment rate that has dropped from 10.0 percent in 2009 to 3.7 percent, yet many consumers continue to struggle financially,” said GLVR CEO Justin Porembo. “While we like to see a hot market and homes moving, we’re keeping a pulse on the continuing inventory struggles and how the higher home prices are affecting buyers, particularly first-time buyers.”

The good news, adds GLVR President Carl Billera, is that low mortgage interest rates have helped offset low housing affordability and, in a move that we hope stokes continued economic prosperity, the Federal Reserve reduced the benchmark interest rate by a quarter point to about 2.25 percent, marking the first reduction in more than a decade.

Other notable market stats for July: New Listings decreased 10.3 percent to 1,074. Pending Sales were up 7.8 percent to 899. Inventory levels shrank 17.8 percent to 1,757 units, leading to a Months Supply of Inventory that dropped 16.7 percent to 2.5 months.

In Carbon County, the Median Sales Price dipped to $122,000. Closed Sales and Pending Sales climbed to 79 and 81, respectively. There was a decrease in Inventory, which came in at 346 units.